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dam-l LS: Thai Villagers Facing Rising Reservoir
Situation at Rasi Salai Dam grows more threatening each day
By Southeast Asia Rivers Network(SEARIN)
At present, villagers who have been affected by the construction of the
Rasi Salai dam (on the Mun River), have already been subjected to the
inundation of their houses and the surrounding land.
The situation in Rasi Salai has grown much more serious since Nov 4. The
Department of Energy Development at Promotion (DEDP) now has a strategy to
displace the villagers from the reservoir, which they have decided to
reside in indefinitely to stage their protest. The DEDP's tactic is to
increase the water between nightfall and dawn, while the villagers are
asleep. (The water level is currently being raised 10 cm per night.)
On Nov. 6, 30 shelters were submerged in the water. The villagers were
forced to crowd into only 7-8 houses that stood higher than the rest, over
25 people in each house. Over 60 percent of the food and belongings of the
villagers have been swept downstream.
Although the villagers have kept above the water by erecting a higher
house, the floor is so close to the roof that it has made living there
quite difficult. Not only are they severely cramped in only one house, but
also there isn't even room enough to stand. They are only capable of
sitting and sleeping.
The rising waters have made the village increasingly smaller, as well as
further and further from the land bank. Now, in order to contact the
outside world, they must row a boat for two kms.
Despite their suffering, they still stand strong. Everyday they plead to
the spirit of the Mun River to protect their lives, and they swear to
remain there until the government meets their demands. Even if they have to
sleep on the roof or remain in the water.
Now the villagers are erecting a Buddhist shrine for meditation and for the
Buddha to watch over them and protect their lives.
This is the last desperate attempt of these villagers to get the message
across that their lives truly have been affected by the dam project.
However, in spite of everything they've done, the government is still
ignoring their demands. So far, the most the government has done was to
send a deputy chief and 1 cop with a machine gun to take a photo and gather
some news.
Aside from this, DEDP has employed a private company and some academics
from Thammasart Uniiversity to produce a t.v. program which promotes any
DEDP projects, distorting the facts and making false charges against the
villagers opposed to their projects. For example, the program named "Rivers
and Thais", conducted by Dr.Seri Wongmontha on ITV every Friday from
2.00-4.00 p.m.
Moreover, some formal leaders of a village, who were actually selected by
the government, were invited for an interview on a newstalk t.v. program.
They gave false information by saying that there weren't any problems, or
affected villagers in their area.
At present, DEDP is preparing over 50 million baht for the compensation of
the affected villagers. In reality, however, even this gesture of seeming
good will is yet another ploy to deny the real affected people of the money
they deserve. The DEDP gives the money to formal leaders of the villages,
and leaves them in charge of distributing it to all of the affected people.
So the formal leaders distribute the money to whoever they want, namely
their relatives and stakeholders. These are the reasons that the real
affected villagers aren't receiving their due compensation and must protest
for their equal rights.
To play the political game, the government has implemented a tactic to
discredit some politicians involved in the Rasi Salai issue. For example,
they have accused Mr.Adhison Peangkate, former minister of the Dept. of
Science, Technology, and Environment, of conspiring with the protesters
against the government to cheat the nation out of its money. Mr.Peangkate
proposed to the former governmental cabinet the compensation of affected
villagers at Rasi Salai. The government has also accused the villagers who
received the compensation of being inauthentic, attempting to lay claim to
government money that does not belong to them. This is a blatant lie, and
it is clear that government is trying to avoid compensating the villagers.
The government has even brought this issue to the courts, claiming that the
villagers are trying to cheat the nation out of its money. It must be made
clear that there are 2 groups of villagers currently protesting. The first
group consists of people who were initially compensated, but now the
government claims that they were not "real affected villagers", and that
they lied to receive the compensation. This group is protesting to demand
that the government examine the land rights and see that they were indeed
affected by the dam project. The second group of villagers never received
any sort of compensation.
************************************************
Chainarong Sretthachau
Southeast Asia Rivers Network(SEARIN)
25/5 Moo 2 Soi Sukhapibarn 27
Changkhien-Jed Yod Road
Chang Phuek
Muang
Chiang Mai 50300
Thailand
Tel/Fax: (66) 53-221157
Email: searin@chmai.loxinfo.co.th